


Worth It

by IntrovertedHappiness



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Comfort, Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Tell me if I need to add any tags, as warnings or otherwise, tagged as major character death bc this is legit only about magnus dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 21:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20918549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedHappiness/pseuds/IntrovertedHappiness
Summary: Magnus dies so many times. Here's a few of them.





	Worth It

The first time Magnus died, the possibility of coming back wasn’t even in his mind. He’s racing towards the animals on this plane, helping them hide and get to safety. He dies with a baby bear wrapped tightly in his arms. He’s muttering something to it as they run but Magnus trips over a tree root he hadn’t seen and they both end up dead. 

Magnus wakes up with gasp on the deck of the Starblaster. Lup and Taako are standing nearby, gripping each other tightly, and spot him first. Lup rushes forward, launching herself into his arms with a sob. Taako stands a bit away, eyes wide but laughing with tears streaming down his face. The rest of the crew notices and in the wake of the tragedy, they were rejoicing.

The second time Magnus died, he was slumped up against a giant mushroom, eyes fluttering closed, his grip on Merle loosening by the second. Magnus knew there was nothing they could do- he had stumbled and his mask had slipped and he had breathed in some of the lethal air that surrounded them. Merle had tried all he could to save Magnus but nothing worked fast enough. He wasn’t even strong enough to carry Magnus back to the ship. Magnus heard Merle murmur something to him, squeezing his hand tightly as he passed.

The third time Magnus died, it’s foolhardy and idiotic. He knew while doing it that it was a stupid idea, yet he couldn’t help it. Nothing was going to put his family in danger. So when the group of gigantic creatures pounced forward at the nearest person- Lucretia- he jumped in front of her. They struggled for a few seconds and Magnus felt a claw slash across his chest. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the deck of the Starblaster again.

He soon found out that Lucretia had died too, despite his efforts. It was then that Magnus realized he couldn’t save everyone, no matter how hard he tried.

The sixth time Magnus died, all he felt was exhaustion. He couldn’t quite remember what had happened. No one had been there to retell the story, but Barry said they found his body mangled and torn up. Sometimes, when he was trying to sleep at night, he got flashes of a sharp, toothy grin, and glowing blue eyes. When that happened, Magnus would get up from his bed and patrol around the ship all night. One time, Barry caught him and they sat together. Not talking or anything. Just… sitting.

The eighth time that Magnus died, he was cold. Really, really cold. He and Lup had gone out on a scouting mission in a snowy word when an avalanche had fallen over them. He recalled hearing Lup scream. He recalled hoping, praying to whatever Gods were out there, that she survived. When he woke up again, they told him how they had barely found Lup alive. When she directed them to where Magnus had been standing, they found him with his fists curled up against his chest, clutching a photograph that Lup had just given him.

It was of all them together, smiling.

The twelveth time that Magnus died, he deserved it. Or at least, he felt like he did. He had been storming out of a native village after an argument with the leader. An arrow pierced his chest as he passed the village limits- as he passed where the “no murder” law was enforced. When he awoke, Taako woke up next to him. After learning what had happened, Taako had stormed into the village and  _ demanded _ to know who did it at once. An argument arose, then a fight. The same murderer revealed himself as he pressed a knife through Taako’s heart.

As much as Mangus loved Taako, he didn’t know why he did that.

The thirteenth time that Magnus died, he had almost made it through. They were all running towards the ship as the Hunger touched down on this plane. It wasn’t even a hundred meters away from the Starblaster when an inky tendril shot straight down onto Magnus, killing him instantly. His team didn’t have the time to go back for his body, even if they knew he’d wake up moments after they blasted off. It was so hard to just leave a body behind.

The fifteenth time Magnus died, he had been poisoned. Davenport and him went off to a conference with the city leaders, who already didn’t like them. Magnus was acting as sort of a bodyguard, despite Davenport’s insistence that he was fine going by himself. They arrived and were escorted to the highest floor of the tallest building, where a few leaders were idly chit-chatting. They quieted as Davenport and Magnus entered. A little while later, after the meeting had officially ended, Davenport excused himself to the bathroom and Magnus stood by the window awkwardly. He supposed that they didn’t think that he would notice if someone put poison in Davenport’s drink.

He didn’t want to alert them and tried to convince Davenport to leave early, but when they started to toast, Magnus took the glass that they had given to his Captin and chugged it down with a toast to “a long, healthy life!”

The sixteenth time that Magnus died, it was short and painless. They had been captured and where presented in front of the judges. He had tried to escape and been turned into stone. Not one of his proudest moments, but he was glad for the ease. He didn’t feel like suffering this time around.

The nineteenth time Magnus died, it was slow. A spell had been cast on him that slowly caused him to fall ill. First came the sniffles, then the searing headaches, then the random bleeding. Merle and Barry tried desperately to fix it, to heal him the best they could. When he died, he was shaking and muttering nonsense, with his friends close by. There was no way they were letting him go through this alone. No way he’d die alone. Not this time.

The twentieth time Magnus died, he didn’t remember dying the other nineteen times. It was in the small town of Refuge. Dying that many times over and over again made him almost nostalgic and he really wished he knew why. Magnus found himself charing into action, as he almost always did, with renewed vigor.

He couldn’t die and for some reason, that made him feel alive.

The thirty-first time Magnus died, he wasn’t excepting it. He knew what it felt like now- after dying eleven times in Refuge, he was oh so familiar with how it felt. But he wasn’t familiar with the sensation of his  _ soul _ being  _ cast out of his body _ . He scrambled to get back to his body before being pulled into the astral plane. And when Taako and Merle found a way to help, to bring him back to a mannequin body after his actual body had been destroyed? He was so thankful- so, so thankful, even though it felt like they had done this dozens of times before. Not the “I died and now I’m drifting into the astral plane, but it’s okay because you’ll save me with a weird spell and a giant spectral hand” situation, but the… “I’m gonna do my damnest to make sure you won’t die and if you even think about visiting the astral plane, I’m gonna kick your ass” situation.

The thirty-third time that Magnus died, he was happy. As he slips out of his body and goes with Kravitz to the astral plane, he felt  _ excited _ . By now he knew Kravitz’s body language and could tell he was kind of excited too. Kravitz led him across the sea of souls and to the back of a dark field, where a small, cozy cottage sat. He cast Kravtiz a confused glance as they approached. Of course, he wasn’t confused anymore when the door flung open.

And as Magnus glanced back in his history, he was  _ glad _ . Dying, he decided, sometimes sucked. But if after all those times he was finally here? Finally at peace, with no one to fight with anymore?

  
This happily ever after was completely  _ worth it _ in his opinion. 


End file.
